Monday, October 27, 2003

Dynamism in Form

Hey look, I'm posting back here again, so I can talk about nerdy things I can't in a vaguely tech-culture related weblog. Namely, this funky book I just found out existed! My Futurist Years, by Roman Jakobson. How sexy is that? If it wasn't a compilation of diaries, letters, opinions and ephemera,(like..a weblog from the begining of the century) I'd buy it, read it, and try to fit it into my booklist. My professor last semester told me Jakobson was "as close as literary theory got to the avant garde", but I didn't buy it until now. And check out the blaring typography on the cover: red on black, disjointed, abrasive characters. It really looks like a Futurist text!

Here is the synopsis:

"Memoir. Cultural Writing. Roman Jakobson was a founder of two of the most influential schools of 20th century literary thought: Russian Formalism and Structuralism. Jakobson's rare sensibility in his explorations of language and art are no more evident than in this volume, detailing the formative moment in his public and personal life. Along with the moving recollections of his friendships with such Modernist figures as Majokovskij, Xlebnikov, and Malevich, the book incliudes Jakobson's letters to other futurists active in the scene and to his close friend Elsa Brik, later to gain noteriety as the french writer Elsa Triolet and wife of the poet Louis Aragon. Translated byStephen Rudy. Edited by Bengt Jangfeldt. 16 black & white plates. "

I don't know if that was accurate. (Jakobson founded Structuralism?) I guess I'm just excited that one of my favorite literary schools was in bed with one of my favorite avant gardes. And look at that cover! Come on!